Marvel-ous night out at superhero arena tour

Marvel Live

Published:10:29Tuesday 23 February 2016

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EXCELSIOR! Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Wolverine and many other superhero characters from the Marvel Universe are smashing their way off the big screen and heading for a new spectacular live show at Manchester!

You’ve seen them battling to save the universe for years in the cinema.

But now you can throw away your 3D glasses and see them live on tour in a dazzling new arena show for the first time in the UK.

Fans in the North West will have to wait until January next year for the shows to play at Manchester Arena.

The tour has been playing to sold out audiences and rave reviews all over America for 18-months and families are expected to snap up tickets for the UK shows in a heartbeat.

Pre-sale tickets for Marvel Universe LIVE! are available from noon today but go on general sale on Friday, March 4.

Marvel Live

For the first time ever, iconic Marvel Super Heroes and villains will be brought to life in an action packed live show, when Marvel Universe LIVE! Super Heroes Assemble touches down in the UK this September.

Arena audiences first enjoyed Batman Live - featuring the dynamic duo against the likes of the Joker and Catwoman - when the first superhero live show of its type came to Sheffield six years ago.

But Marvel Universe LIVE! bosses promise this new live show will take the live entertainment experience to a whole new level, with an epic show unlike anything seen before.

It’s being hailed as the most technically advanced live show ever, with cutting-edge special effects, pyrotechnics, aerial stunts, martial arts, motorcycles and more.

The technology utilised in the show is not only going to blow your mind, it is going to take you to a whole new Marvel world like nothing British families have ever seen before

Chief Creative Officer

Featuring over 50 cast members and taking over two years to research and develop, Marvel Universe LIVE! utilises some of the latest innovations in arena set design and aerial pyrotechnics, with stunts developed by the team from Hollywood blockbuster, Thor, and the recent The Amazing Spider-Man films.

The set includes innovative lighting design, transformative 3D projection, 21 projectors, the largest flying system ever used for a live arena tour and the debut of a new Spotlight Tracking System.

Bringing together the largest assembly of Marvel characters in a live production, audiences will be able to watch their favourite Marvel Super Heroes in explosive action right before their eyes.

And it won’t just be the good guys on show.

They will be battling Loki, Red Skull, Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, and Marvel’s most sinister villains,

From the creative team that brings arena spectaculars such as Disney On Ice, Feld Entertainment Inc, the world’s leading producer of touring live entertainment announced the UK tour today.

Marvel Universe LIVE! will see Spider-Man and co swinging into six major UK cities - Nottingham, London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Sheffield and Manchester – for an electrifying run of over 40 shows that have already entertained almost 2 million families in over 65 US cities to date in its first tour.

“We are delighted to bring Marvel Universe LIVE! to the UK, giving families an opportunity to enjoy this spectacular live show for the very first time. The audience will feel like they’ve been transported into a jaw-dropping Marvel blockbuster film, with an engrossing storyline and non-stop stunts”, said Steven Armstrong, VP of Europe North at Feld Entertainment, Inc.

Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada said: “To see all the elements of this spectacular live show come together has been truly incredible.

“The technology utilised in the show is not only going to blow your mind, it is going to take you to a whole new Marvel world like nothing British families have ever seen before.”

It takes more computer power to run the show’s projections than to power a space shuttle.

The Marvel Universe LIVE! production includes the largest, transformative projection space ever known to be built.

A unique stage design, based on projection mapping, also known as video mapping, helps create the many landscapes of Marvel Universe LIVE!

One of the most dramatic displays of projection mapping in the show is during Iron Man Tony Stark and Spider-Man Peter Parker’s Quinjet flight between skyscrapers and over iconic landmarks. Another clip transports the audience quickly to the other side of the world.

The show’s Creative Team generated a backdrop that is the equivalent of a two-hour scenic movie, filling 10 terabytes of data on the projector servers. Rendering a scene often took a minimum of one week and had enough data to fill 2,000 DVDs.

“What’s so amazing about the technology within this show is that it provides a completely immersive and interactive experience with some of Marvel’s most famous characters. We’re going to lull the audience into a false sense of what they think the technology can do at the top of the show and then go in for the ultimate visual knockout,” said J. Vaught, VP of Ice/Stage Operations & Creative Development.

Tickets for all venues go on general sale on March 4, with pre-sale tickets available today at noon from the Marvel Universe LIVE! website at: www.MarvelUniverseLive.co.uk.

Marvel Universe LIVE! begins its quest across the UK on Thursday, September 8, at Motorpoint Arena Nottingham, before visiting The 02 in London; Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham; the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow; Sheffield Arena, and Manchester Arena.